Shaving Cream Writing Activity

When I was a classroom teacher, I used activities like this often.

My students loved writing in shaving cream, and this is an activity I’ve definitely used on repeat in our homeschooling life.

How to Set Up this Fun Sensory Activity

To get started, I recommend a clear desk or table space for “writing”.

In a school setting, desk spaces worked great – and some teachers claim that the shaving cream actually cleans the desks.

I’ve not dug into that science to see if it’s true, but hey, maybe it is.

Note: As a mom, I’ve actually started feeling concerned about the ingredients in this shaving cream I’ve chosen on repeat over the years – and started wondering if maybe I should consider a different option…I digress.

Maybe you’d prefer to have a way to contain the shaving cream. I totally understand!

When using this activity in our homeschool, I’ve used always used a tray of some sort for this activity.

This colorful tray is one I found several years ago at Home Goods, but we’ve also used these IKEA trays on repeat for lots of different activities.

They’re durable and inexpensive and make for easy clean-up every time.

Truly perfect to use for sensory trays.

Don’t want to purchase a tray?

No worries! Try a cookie sheet!

Next, consider what you what your child to “write”.

Are they at a stage where they’re practicing:

• writing letters of the alphabet
• correctly writing the number 8
• CVC words
• sight words
• spelling words
• cursive letter formation
• simple mathematical equations (multiplication facts, etc.)
• vocabulary terms
• Latin/Greek Roots

What could your child practice writing in shaving cream?

In this post, you’ll see a first-grade spelling list from Abeka.

Over the years, we’ve used their phonics and spelling program throughout the early elementary school years.

For each spelling list, we do the activity pages in the books paired with sensory-friendly activities like this that I choose for each child.

For us, this is the beauty of parent-led Abeka, and it has worked really well for us through the years.

Now, it’s time to write!

Squirt out a small glob of shaving cream.

Then have the child spread this out into a thin layer of shaving cream.

Too much shaving cream can make this activity a bit frustrating for some students – and more complicated when it’s time to clean up.

So make sure their layer of shaving cream isn’t too thick for writing.

Your student may want to have some shaving cream play time.

That is totally understandable.

Encourage them to practice their writing, promising them free sensory play in the shaving cream after they complete their “work”.

Just don’t forget, for many students, that free play of this kind is a great way to strengthen fine motor skills.

How could you incorporate this fun activity into your child’s learning?

Or maybe you’re a classroom teacher like I was – Could you incorporate this activity into your lesson plan ideas?

Things to Consider:

• Do you have a child who doesn’t want to use their fingers/hands in the shaving cream? No worries! Allow them to use a popsicle stick as their writing tool.
• Want to make the shaving cream colorful? A couple of drops of food coloring will do the trick – adding another level to this sensory experience.
• Sure, younger children enjoy sensory activities, but don’t forget about your older students! Most likely, they would enjoy messy play opportunities as well – while still having the writing skills pieces of it, of course.